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Editor’s Note: With the cancellations of community events due to COVID-19, The News-Herald’s calendar listings will begin with events happening Aug. 1. The ongoing monthly events will also be listed. Before attending an event, contact the organizers to find out if it has been cancelled.

The Wayne County Health Department reported Wednesday that 29 county residents have died since Tuesday due to COVID-19-related illnesses.

That's the highest death rate for a single day to date in the county.

Among the deaths were three Wyandotte residents, two Lincoln Park residents and a single resident of Allen Park, Brownstown, Ecorse, Romulus, Taylor and Trenton.

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Citing confidentiality laws, health officials only released the community of residence. Ages and genders were not released.

This brings the county's coronavirus-related death count to 74, including a Southgate man who was the first person to die in the state. Across Downriver, this brings the death toll to four Lincoln Park and Taylor residents; three Brownstown, Romulus and Wyandotte residents; two Allen Park residents; and a single resident of Ecorse, Gibraltar, Melvindale, Riverview and Trenton.

Along with the deaths, Wayne County officials also announced Wednesday that 338 new people tested positive for COVID-19 since Tuesday, bringing the county's total to 2,045 cases.

The county does not include statistics from Detroit as it has its own health department and reports its numbers separately.

This comes on the same day that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of disaster in Michigan and asked the state Legislature to extend Michigan's existing state of emergency and new state of disaster by 70 days.

The disaster declaration does not automatically extend the governor's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order, which is set to expire April 13. It does, though, leave open the possibility and shows the governor's belief that the health crisis remains.

Michigan lawmakers are expected to meet to debate and vote on the measure next week.

"Since Michigan announced our first confirmed cases of COVID-19 three weeks ago, we have taken some of the most aggressive measures in the country to mitigate the spread of the virus and protect Michigan families,” Whitmer said. “Today’s action will allow my administration to respond more effectively to every facet of this crisis. During this time, it’s crucial that Michiganders continue to stay home and keep their distance from others. We will get through this together.”